Detectives warn Lakeview residents of robberies

Staff report

North Side detectives are warning residents of Lakeview in the Town Hall Police District about two series of robberies that have taken place in the area dating back to May, with the latest of the robberies taking place early Monday.

In the older of the two robbery patterns, dating back to May 22, someone went up to people and threatened them with a hammer. In the more recent series of robberies, dating back to Sept. 11, people have been robbed and their purses snatched, according to police alerts.

Nearly all of the robberies have taken place in the early morning hours.

The latest of both the hammer and purse-snatching attacks took place early Monday, according to police. Men and women or men dressed as women have been asking to use a victim's cell phone, then snatching a purse or wallet or hitting and kicking a victim, then going through their pockets, according to one alert issued today. The robbers also have used pepper spray in some of the attacks.

The robbers appear to vary in age from their late teens up to about 30 years old. Police released a detailed description in only one of the robberies, which happened about 12:50 a.m. Monday in the 1200 block of West Cornelia Avenue. A robber in that incident is described as a black woman between the ages of 20 and 25, standing 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, and wearing an orange hooded sweatshirt with white lettering.

In another robbery in this pattern, a man between the ages of 25 and 29, dressed as a woman, got out of a dark, older-model vehicle, possibly a Nissan Sentra, that had three or four other men dressed as women in it, in the 600 block of West Belmont Avenue about 12:50 a.m. Monday and snatched a purse, according to police.

Other robberies in the first pattern were:

• In the 900 block of West Belmont Avenue on Sept. 11 at 3:30 a.m. and at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday;

• In the 3500 block of North Sheffield Avenue on Saturday about 4:10 a.m.

In the pattern in which people have been attacking victims with a hammer, the latest robbery happened in the 3000 block of North Seminary Avenue about 12:30 a.m. Monday, according to a police alert.

In the robberies, between one and six people have gone up to people on the sidewalk and threatened victims with a hammer.

In Monday's robbery, one of the six robbers hit the victim in the leg with the hammer, sending the victim to the ground, and the group then fled in a sedan, police said.

The other two robberies took place May 22 between 3 a.m. and 3:45 a.m. in the 2800 block of North Southport Avenue and Aug. 22 about midnight in the 600 block of West Buckingham Place, according to an alert.

In the latest robbery, of the six attackers, all of whom were traveling in the car, police released detailed descriptions of two men. One is described as Hispanic, 19 to 21 years old, standing 6 feet tall, weighing about 145 pounds, and with an olive complexion. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. Another is described as black, between 19 and 22 years old, standing 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing 165 pounds and wearing a white jacket.

In the Southport robbery, the robber is described as a black man age 19 to 21 standing 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing between 170 and 180 pounds with a black haircut in a fade with a flat top, and having a gap between his front teeth. He was seen getting out of a car before the robbery, but no description of the car was available.

In the Buckingham Place robbery, two robbers are described as an Hispanic man about 19 years old with a light complexion, standing about 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing about 120 pounds, with a black ponytail and a man of an undetermined race, about 22 years old, standing 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing 140 pounds with his hair in dreadlocks.

Anyone with information on the robberies is asked to call Area North detectives at (312) 744-8263.